


two troubled boys, and one was an idiot.

by sleepingwithsocks



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avoiding each other, Changing POV, Confused Kageyama Tobio, Falling In Love, Fights, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Kageyama Tobio Being an Asshole, Kageyama Tobio Needs a Hug, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, My First Fanfic, Nervous Hinata Shouyou, Pining, Secret Crush, Soulmates, a hint of the other popular ships, hinata is a good brother, kageyama and hinata are just a mess, main focus is kagehina, mainly focused on hinata's pov, ok whatever enjoy, older kageyama tobio, the freak duo is just stupid and awkward, they both like each other but they won't accept their own feelings, younger hinata shoyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28427598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepingwithsocks/pseuds/sleepingwithsocks
Summary: The moment you turn 16, you're able to hear your soulmate's thoughts, no matter the distance. The moment that Hinata Shoyo discovers his soulmate's identity, things only manage to go downhill from there on out.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 48
Kudos: 143





	1. only time can tell

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first work, sorry if it's bad, i've never written a fanfiction before! soulmaute au inspired by "don't call me that" by 11teen on this website! go read it, but wait, there's a major character death warning, so read with caution!  
> but this is pure fluff! plus maybe some angst hehe we'll have to see... ^~^
> 
> this is only rated teen and up because of the cursing! 
> 
> TW: there's mentioned abuse and alcoholism in chapter 5, and then it's briefly mentioned in chapter 6 as well. 
> 
> side note: when quotes are italicized, it means that hinata and kageyama are talking to each other in their thoughts!
> 
> thanks for reading!

12:01. Time is moving heart-achingly slow. Just a few more minutes. 3 more minutes. 

* * *

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOYO!”

The short boy with strange hair came bolting across the court towards Hinata.

“Noya-san!” The orange haired boy yelled out happily. In little to no seconds, Nishinoya flung himself onto Hinata, sending them toppling into a heap of laughter and pained groans on the floor of the volleyball court.

“Happy 16th dude!” The figure of a fairly tall, average sized male, came into view. Hinata couldn’t quite make out the figure- oh, nevermind. Almost anyone could tell by the male’s head shape.

And his lack of hair.

“Thanks, Tanaka!” Hinata let a small giggle out and lifted himself from the hard floor.

Soon enough, the whole team came piling into the gym. Everybody wishing Hinata a happy birthday with a sincere grin. Morning practice went by fast. They didn’t do much, Daichi had decided that they should just hang out and have fun in celebration of Hinata’s birthday. They spent the remainder of practice time discussing a topic that Hinata was not too fond of.

“So Hinata...” Nishinoya nudged, “You’re gonna find your soulmate today, remember! Isn’t that exciting? The minute you turn sixteen, you’ll hear their thoughts! I haven’t heard my soulmates thoughts before, so they probably haven’t turned sixteen yet.” Hinata let out a stifled laugh before giving a seemingly disinterested response.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about the soulmate thing.” “What’s got you so down about it Mr. Poopy?”

Mr. Poopy? Where did that nickname come from? What does that even mean?

“On the bright side, Mr. Grumpy (Kageyama), hasn’t heard from his soulmate yet. It could be you!” Nishinoya was always teasing Hinata about Kageyama. Noya thought of it as a light-hearted joke, but the jokes didn’t make Hinata want to laugh. Nobody knew about Hinata’s secret crush on Kageyama.

Except for Kenma. Kozume Kenma was considered one of Hinata’s best friends. Kenma was always truthful, and sometimes, painfully forward. Even so, Kenma's unfiltered upfrontness was good for Hinata’s surging nerves and his tendencies to overthink. Kenma figured out his soulmate was his childhood best friend, Kuroo Tetsuro, many months ago. So if you wanted, I guess you could say that Kenma had some experience in this field. Of course, Hinata wasn’t opposed to the idea of being Kageyama’s soulmate, but he knew that he wasn’t. Every time someone brought the mere image of them being linked together as if it were destiny’s calling, his heart would just ache; because he knew it would never happen.

* * *

Hinata lay on the floor filled with unwanted distress. There was only one way to calm his nerves.

He lazily dragged his phone out of his pocket and pressed on a chat.

Messages:

Sho: kenma?

Kenma: hi

Sho: what was it like getting a soulmate?

Kenma: this again?

Sho: kenma! answer meee! (╥﹏╥)

Kenma: well i guess it was kinda scary. all of a sudden i heard kuroo’s voice in my head and i thought i was going crazy.

Sho: so is my soulmate gonna hear every single one of my thoughts!?

Kenma: not exactly. you learn to control what thoughts u wanna channel to ur partner. it’s not very hard but u wanna learn fast.

Sho: i give up kenmaaa! i don’t want a soulmateeee (╥︣﹏᷅╥᷅)

Kenma: you’ll be fine. stop being a wimp. it’s just kageyama after all.

Sho: kenma! u don’t know that. i doubt it’s him. (≖_≖ )

Kenma: it’s him. trust me. i gtg now. kuroo is bothering me. good luck shouyou.

Sho: bye kenma( ˘︹˘ )

* * *

Kenma’s right. I just need to calm down, it’s not really a big deal.

Hinata took a quick glance at the small, digital clock that sat quietly on his bedside table.

12:01.

Time is moving heart-achingly slow. Just a few more minutes. Three more minutes. Hinata was born at 12:04 AM on June 21st. He had three more minutes until he would possibly hear his soulmate’s thoughts in his head. A part of him longed to hear Kageyama’s voice.

12:03.

One minute.

One more minute.

Seconds ticked by slower than ever. It was like watching paint dry on a freshly painted wall. He wondered if him and his soulmate would communicate during the day. If they’d go on dates, watch movies together, if they would- RRRINNGG

Hinata frantically sprung out of bed. His nervous glance revealed the time.

12:04.

His stomach swirled in anxiety, he felt like he might just keel over and die, or barf everywhere? He didn’t know.

Okay Shouyou, don’t get your hopes up. Your soulmate might not be 16 yet. It’s just a normal night. I won’t hear my soulmate tonight-

 _“I want food, I’m hungry.”_ The familiar irritated voice rang throughout Hinata’s head.

_“KAGEYAMA?”_

_“Eugh, why did I just hear Hinata’s voice?”_

_“KAGEYAMA YOU ASS. IT’S ME.”_

_“Wait why are you- oh. Shit. Oh… fuck.”_

_“So this means… that we uh- we’re…”_

_“Yeah I know dumbass.”_ A few moments of silence stretched between the two boys' conversation until awkwardly interrupted.

_“Well… now what Kageyama?”_

_“Dunno, but I’m hungry so I’m gonna eat now.”_

_“Why don’t you care? Are you not surprised?”_

_“I mean, no, not really. I get that we’re ‘soulmates’ and all but I think that’s just a bunch of bullshit. It’s not like we actually like each other anyways.”_

Hinata felt his heart drop. He felt like Kageyama had physically dug his arm into Hinata’s chest, and pulled his heart out himself.

 _“Y-yeah… of course,”_ Hinata was wondering if Kageyama had heard any of his other thoughts, he felt like he was doing a good job at hiding them. _“W-well… have fun eating?”_

_“Thanks.”_

Hinata threw himself back onto his bed, much filled with disappointment. He couldn’t tell whether he was sad, angry, or confused. Maybe the latter? How was he gonna tell the team that,

1: Kageyama was his soulmate

2: Kageyama **didn’t even like him**

The orange haired boy grasped his face in frustration and buried it deep in the pillows.

* * *

“HINATAAA!” Two loud voices came pummeling through the gym doors towards the small boy.

“Hey guys!” Hinata let out a small laugh. “What’s up?”

“Update on the soulmate situation?” Nishinoya winked and gave him a teasing nudge. Hinata felt a wave of panic rush over him.

Can I tell them? What do I do? I’ll just ask Kageyama I guess.

_“Hey, asshole!”_

_“What do you want? Just talk to me when I get to practice. I don’t wanna exchange thoughts with you, that’s weird.”_

_“God, you’re so annoying, Kageyama.”_

_“Get to the point, Hinata.”_

_“Fine. Noya and Tanaka want to know who my soulmate is. Should I tell?”_

_“Go ahead. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t really mean anything.”_

_“Right… um okay thanks then. See you soon.”_

No ‘goodbye’ from Kageyama? Did they mess up my soulmate? I don’t want him, he’s just an asshole. I want a refund or something.

“Shouyou!” Nishinoya whacked the small boy gently, “Tell us who your soulmate is!”

“Oh yeah, uh it’s Kageyama… heh.” Hinata scratched the back of his head nervously.

“NO FUCKING WAY. DID YOU HEAR THAT RYU? I’M LIKE A FUCKIN’ FORTUNE TELLER OR SOMETHING. I GUESSED IT. HAND OVER THE MONEY.” Tanaka scoffed and rummaged through his pockets, handing the energetic boy a crisp ten dollar bill.

“You guys bet on who my soulmate would be?!” “You betcha! Aaanddddd I woooon! See this Ryu! See this lovely money that was once yours, but now it’s all mine! Why? Because I won the bet! I guessed it right! I knew it, I knew it! I’m so smart, so, so smart!” Nishinoya hollered in a sing-song tone. Hinata forced a light chuckle out and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m not really sure what to do though because-” Hinata was shortly cut off.

“Hold that thought Shouyou.” The spiky haired boy shot up. “IT’S THE BOYFRIEND! HE’S HERE EVERYONE.” Hinata’s face turned blood red when Nishinoya said ‘boyfriend’.

“I’m not his boyfriend.” Kageyama glowered.

“Whatever! You will be at some point! That’s the whole point of soulmates doofus!” Noya stretched his small body in an attempt to ruffle Kageyama’s hair. Kageyama flinched back with a face that could be distinguished as disgust if someone analyzed the way his face looked for long enough.

“That soulmate stuff is bullshit. Hinata’s my volleyball partner. We're probably platonic soulmates, because Hinata and I are never going to happen. Romantic soulmates my ass.”

And with that harsh last note, Kageyama stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way to the club room with a cruel shrug.

“Asshole.” Noya growled under his breath and returned to rambling with Tanaka. Hinata was desperately attempting to suck the rather heavy tears back into his eyeballs. His face was getting hotter by the second. He was enraged and hurt. It wasn’t getting any easier to contain the hot tears from spilling out. One wrong word and Hinata would probably explode.

“Shouyou, what do you think about me becoming a- Shouyou? What’s wrong?” Concern filled Nishinoya’s once ecstatic voice. Hinata looked up at his upperclassmen with a wobbly lip. In no time, Hinata felt the warm tears stream down his face. He was losing control of his feelings. Silent tears became heavy sobs in the matter of a few seconds.

Noya and Tanaka frantically tried to comfort him with jokes while patting him on the back a little too hard. They never knew how to deal with emotions, those two were just a mess of shitty dad jokes and comedic relief when needed. But comedic relief wasn’t enough to revive the happy aura that surrounded the three a few minutes ago.

Just because Hinata’s the luckiest person ever, the raven-haired setter came walking back inside the gym, immediately locking eyes with a crying Hinata and the panicking upperclassmen. Kageyama’s voice filled Hinata’s head seconds after they met eyes.

_“The fuck is up with you, Hinata?”_

Kageyama received no response, just an outburst of more tears and panicked yelps from all three boys. Thankfully, an angel came walking into the gym a little after Hinata’s second outbreak of emotions.

An angel with silky grey hair and the sweetest smile.

“Suga-saaaan!” Hinata leaped off the floor and wrapped Suga’s torso in a tight hug while spilling warm tears all over his sweatshirt.

“Hinata?” He enveloped the smaller boy into his arms, “What did you guys do to him?” Suga scowled at the two flustered second years.

“NOTHING! WE SWEAR! He just burst into tears out of nowhere!” Suga replied with a quiet hum and guided the crying boy outside of the gym.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” Suga’s gentle voice eased some of Hinata’s nerves.

The smaller boy sniffled and wiped his tears, taking a deep breath and hoping that he could keep his composure for 5 minutes at most.


	2. exchange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Hinata make the switch and get rid of his soulmate, or will he deal with it in his own way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh i dont really like this chapter... my progress kept deleting because i accidentally turned off my computer twice and it exited out of my tabs >:( so as im writing this, this would be my third time rewriting this chapter. im sorry if this one is bad... it's been rushed multiple times now hehe... but continue!

The once falling tears on Hinata's cheeks slowly dried up. Hinata took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Well, you know how you get a soulmate when you turn 16?" Hinata had kept himself somewhat composed so far, but yet again, he was only one sentence into this conversation.

"Yeah! What about it?" The grey-haired setter cocked his head sideways.

"Last night, I figured out that Kageyama's my soulmate." Hinata exhaled loud and heavy.

"Oh! What's so bad about that? You guys are pretty close anyways, right?"

"He says that this soulmate stuff is bullshit and that we'd never be soulmates romantically. He also was saying he doesn't want to talk to me through our thoughts because it's 'weird' I guess? And he's just been an ass to me. I don't think he's really my soulmate. Isn't your soulmate supposed to love you? Why's he just being a dick?" Hinata could feel his face heating up once again.

"Aw, Hinata. I'm sure he's just not used to the concept. It's a pretty new thing to both of you guys. I'm positive that he'll warm up to the idea of you two being soulmates in no time!" Suga reassured with a bright smile, but it didn't make Hinata feel any better. If anything, he just felt worse than before.

"No, I don't care. He didn't wanna accept it from the start so I don't think he deserves it ever. GWAAAH I'm so angry at him! Stupid Kageyama. I don't want him. I want a new soulmate!" Hinata pouted.

"Well... I don't know if it's really a smart idea for me to tell you this but - you can switch out soulmates." Hinata's face lit up. "But hey, slow down. Once you make the exchange, you can never get your original soulmate back. Just wait it out with Kageyama, there's no rush. But I won't stop you from making whatever choice you think is best. If you want to swap him out now, I won't try to persuade you not to. I just warn you that there's no going back on this, so be smart." Suga's usual warm grin had disappeared off of his face.

Hinata nodded his head lightly in response, and readied himself to get back to practice.

"So I could switch out Kageyama if I really wanted to?" Hinata wondered to himself as he stood up. Or so- he thought it was to himself.

_"What the fuck? Are you trying to swap me out?"_

Shit.

_"Oh uh... you heard that?"_

_"Yeah, obvi-fucking-ously I did."_

_"No um, I'm not going to. I just- was wondering. I heard that you can, but uh, I wasn't planning on it... or something."_

_"Sure."_

_"I'm sorryyyy!"_

_"I don't care. I would swap you out too if I actually cared about this soulmate stuff, but I don't, so I really don't give a shit. I'm sick of talking about this, just hurry up and start practicing with me."_

Hinata felt significantly worse now that he knew not only did Kageyama not care, but that he would definitely switch Hinata out if he did. Hinata patted his eyes dry and made his way back inside.

* * *

Practice went by slow at first. Hinata couldn't stop his mind from dwelling on Kageyama's rough words - that was, until a strong serve nailed Hinata right between his eyes, pulling him back into reality.

"Good work today guys. Go change and head out!' Daichi's low voice boomed throughout the gym. The echoes of his voice were followed by the sounds of heavy shoes squeaking on the court, shuffling their way to the club room to change.

The boys made their way out of the gym and walked the short distance to the club room.

During Hinata's small trip, he had demised a plan. Was it a good one? No, not really, but Hinata was determined to pull through with this plan of his.

Let's get this straight. He chose to not get rid of Kageyama as a soulmate, it's not like it was going to change much anyways. First and foremost, no eye contact with Kageyama. No physical touch, no talking or texting for fun. Keep things strictly volleyball. No more interactions off of the court. This should be enough to make Hinata lose feelings for Kageyama. He would only have to avoid Kageyama for a few weeks tops. This shouldn't be too hard.

Right?

"Hurry and get changed." Daichi called out to everyone.

Shit. Hinata had forgotten about changing. If Hinata saw Kageyama with one less article of clothing than he usually had on, he just might fall even harder - and that was the exact opposite of what Hinata wanted.

Just keep your eyes off of him, no biggie!

Oh right, just because Hinata's the luckiest person ever, Hinata's locker was so conveniently located right next to Kageyama's.

The team members made way to their lockers and began changing. Hinata was eager to get out of there as soon as possible. The longer he was with Kageyama, the more torture he put himself through.

Hinata anxiously pulled off his shirt, switching it out for a fresh, white t-shirt. He pulled the new shirt over his head and began speedily shoveling his belongings into his bag. Hinata zipped his bag and slammed the locker door shut. 

There stood a figure where the locker door was once positioned. A very pretty figure, might he add.

Hinata's face turned a heavy shade of scarlet once Hinata's peripheral vision revealed a shirtless Kageyama. Hinata's eyes immediately darted to the floor.

"Oi, Hinata," 

This was timing was just perfect.

"Wanna stop by the shop and get meat buns on our way home?" 

Shit. Hinata didn't have any good excuses. 

"O-oh... w-well I would love to but, um, I... have to babysit Natsu! Yeah! That! So uh, I can't today... t-tomorrow maybe?" Hinata stammered.

It wasn't a complete lie, Hinata did have to watch Natsu, but it wasn't as urgent as he made it out to be.

"Oh, okay. Then let's head out. I wanna get home before it gets too dark. Grab your bike." Kageyama motioned for him to follow.

Hinata knew he couldn't turn this offer down. It'd become routinely for the two to walk home together. They did live in the same neighborhood after all.

"Okay... sure. But uh, put a shirt on first." Awkward silence stretched between the two. "O-or are you trying to... seduce me?" Hinata felt his whole body recoil in response to the terrible joke he created to break the silence.

"Ew, never."

Ouch.

Kageyama scoffed and pulled a baggy black long sleeve tee over his head. Hinata slung his bag around his shoulder and waddled behind Kageyama, grabbing his bike as well.

The ticking of the shifting gears on Hinata's bike was the only sound that filled the silence between the two. Hinata shuffled his feet alongside his bike, keeping his eyes glued to the pavement. He didn't dare take even the smallest of glances at Kageyama.

They arrived at the familiar crossroad where Hinata and Kageyama often separated for the night.

"W-well... here's my stop- I mean, you know that of course b- um. Okay, I-I better get going... gotta get home to Natsu, y'know? Heh." Hinata anxiously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Hinata could feel Kageyama's gaze burning a hole through his skin.

"H-huh? What do you mean? N-no I'm not!" Hinata stuttered out, which certainly didn't help his case of 'not acting weird'.

"Hinata, I know you're lying. It's easy to tell. Plus, you've been weirdly quiet tonight. You haven't spoken a single word up until now, and you've been walking like 9 feet away from me. You're usually running your mouth and pushing me all over the place. I know something's wrong, so what's up? You can't bullshit your way out of this one. Just tell me." Kageyama's voice was filled with genuine concern.

It was things like these that made Hinata's heart flip. The way that Kageyama knew Hinata was off, or how he noticed the little changes in Hinata's behavior. The way that Kageyama detected Hinata's mood change in seconds, and how Kageyama let his walls down for a few minutes during these late night walks. He was almost...

Vulnerable.

"N-nothing, I swear. Really, I gotta get home to Natsu now, okay?" Hinata decided it would be okay to look at Kageyama one last time, before he cut all ties with him for the time being.

The shorter boy lifted his gaze from the ground, locked eyes with the taller boy, and shot him a sincere grin. His eyes twinkled in the pale moonlight. His smile was gorgeous. It could fix world hunger if it wanted to.

Okay, maybe not, but you get the point.

A small laugh escaped from the orange haired boy before he turned on the ball of his foot and ran down his street, leaving Kageyama standing alone.

Kageyama watched as the small boy disappeared down the street, letting a small grin escape from his mouth, before quickly wiping it off.

 _"Don't, Tobio. Control yourself. You don't need him."_ Kageyama sighed, and made his way home as well.

* * *

Hinata flung the door to his house open and locked it behind him. He threw off his shoes by the door and dropped his bag down next to them.

"Nii-chan!" A small girl came charging towards Hinata.

"Hey Natsu!" Hinata crouched down and embraced Natsu tightly, twirling her around in circles a few times. He set Natsu down gently and smiled at her.

"Say, are you hungry? Want me to make you food?"

"Nii-chan, you're bad at cooking." Natsu pouted at her brother.

"Natsu, you wound me." Hinata giggled, "I dunno... I'm pretty good when it comes to making mac and cheese!" 

"Yeah! Mac and cheese! Make that please!" The smaller Hinata jumped up and down on her tiny feet. Hinata nodded in response and traveled to the kitchen after setting Natsu down in front of the TV.

* * *

Hinata grabbed the empty bowls and set them by the sink.

"C'mon, bed time." Hinata reached his arms out, motioning towards Natsu to climb into his grasp. Natsu nodded sleepily, and cozied up in her brothers arms. Hinata carried her up the stairs and laid her down in her bed, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Shoyo?" Natsu whined out quietly.

"Hm?" Hinata hummed in response.

"Bring Kageyama over some time. I wanna see who Nii-chan never stops talking about." Natsu rolled onto her side, getting comfortable.

"Maybe in a few weeks..." Right, he had to start ignoring Kageyama starting tomorrow. "Goodnight Natsu." Hinata ruffled her hair lightly, before leaving to his own room. 

Hinata really loved Natsu, she was his pride and joy. They were similar in so many ways. Natsu looked up to Hinata, and it made him happy. He aspired to be the best brother in the world - oh and the next tiny giant.

Hinata changed into his pajamas and pulled himself into his small bed. He rubbed his exhaust filled eyes and released a heavy sigh. 

It's gonna be a lot harder to avoid Kageyama than he thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for making kageyama an absolute asss >.< it'll get better though! maaaybeee... i hope u enjoyed this chapter! i have a few ideas for the next chapter, so i have high hopes that it'll be significantly better than this shitty one! i'm thinking i'll have the next chapter done by january 1st or 2nd hopefully! i'm also going to try making the chapters a little bit longer starting next chapter most likely... so stick around! c u next chapter <3


	3. ignorance is bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata begins avoiding Kageyama, but something gets in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is going to be a lot longer! i wrote some of this while i sat in the waiting room of the dentists to distract myself because i was nervous >_< prepare yourself for natsu and shoyo brainrot!

"Shoyo! Get up! You're late!"

Hinata jumped out of bed before his mom could finish her sentence. 

Shit. Did he forget to set his alarm? Did he sleep through it? Whatever, now isn’t the time to think about this. 

It was already 8:30, and he was supposed to be at morning practice 15 minutes ago.

He tore the bed sheets off of him, but before he began getting changed, a familiar voice filled his head.

_"Hinata. Where are you?"_

Hinata stopped himself before he responded. When Hinata decided that he would ignore Kageyama, he meant that he would ignore everything. Even his thoughts.

Hinata swiftly changed into his practice clothes, grabbed his bag with his uniform in it, and booked it out the door.

“Wait! Sho! Do you want an apple or something to eat?” Hinata’s mom hollered from behind.

“No thanks! I’m okay, I’ll eat at school!” Hinata yelled and continued to sprint down the road.

* * *

Hinata barreled through the gym doors, about 25 minutes late now. He gasped for air as he laid on the floor of the gym in front of the doors.

“You’re late.” Tsukishima snickered.

“Oh, really?” Hinata sneered at the taller middle blocker, sticking a mocking tongue out at him.

Hinata picked himself up from the floor and waddled over to the cluster of boys sitting on the floor, taking instructions from Coach Ukai. He squatted down next to Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were stationed on the opposite side of Kageyama.

That was flag number one for Kageyama. Hinata always sat next to Kageyama, no matter where they were. Might it be a bus, the gym, on the sidelines during a game, or during lunch. It didn’t matter - he was always next to him.

Kageyama shrugged it off, Hinata was usually early too. Maybe today he was just a little off balance. 

* * *

They continued practice like normal. Hinata and Kageyama exchanging only a few words the whole duration of practice. Hinata kept interactions with the taller boy to a minimum. Only shouting out ‘nice serve’ or ‘don’t mind’ when necessary.

Practice wrapped up and Hinata darted to the club room before anyone else even took a step towards the door. He was determined to get changed and get to class before Kageyama could try and talk to him.

He ripped open his locker, threw his practice clothes off, and tugged on his school uniform. He slammed the locker door shut before bolting out the door, pushing straight past Kageyama.

Kageyama was bewildered. What was he in such a rush for?

That was flag number two. They always walked to class together after morning practice since they had math class with each other. Kageyama convinced himself that Hinata’s weird antics were simply the result of his rough morning start

* * *

The silhouette of a tall boy swung the classroom door open. Hinata was able to decipher exactly who it was once they came into his peripheral view.

Hinata couldn’t risk any interaction, so he quickly laid his head down in his arms and pretended to take a nap. He felt a large shadow cast over his small body.

“Oi. Why’d you run off like that”

It's Kageyama.

Hinata sat extremely still. He was positive that he wasn't even breathing anymore.

He heard Kageyama mutter something softly under his breath. 

“He’s asleep.” 

Hinata felt a light hand ruffle his hair and then the shadow that once hovered over him dissipated.

He knew that was Kageyama’s hand. His face immediately blushed a bright shade of scarlet. Hinata was thankful that his face was hidden in his arms.

That was really strange of Kageyama to do. He’d never been big on physical touch. So why now? Why ruffle Hinata's hair the moment he decides to avoid him? 

“Okay class, let’s get started.” The teacher’s gentle voice rang through the classroom in conjunction of the sounds of shuffling papers and clicking pens. Hinata slowly lifted his head from his arms, praying that the vibrant flush from his face had disappeared.

“Today, we’re going to start a project. This will be a partner project.”

Excited gasps filled the empty walls. Students ecstatic to work with their friends.

“I’m choosing the partners.” The teacher interjected.

Disappointed groans quickly killed the mood. Hinata was hit by a wave of relief. He wouldn’t have to deal with finding another partner that wasn’t Kageyama. Or have to deal with finding an excuse as to why he couldn't work with him.

Now that he wouldn't have to partner up with Kageyama, he would just need to get through these few weeks fast.

"Hinata and Kageyama. I want you two to work together."

Spoke too soon.

Hinata's stomach dropped, how would he face Kageyama after suspiciously dodging him the whole day?

The two boys nodded their heads at the teacher in response.

Okay, it's just a minor setback. Hinata will finish this project with him and then get to avoiding afterwards.

The teacher continued to list the pairings and gave instructions for the remainder of class.

* * *

The piercing sound of the bell ringing signaled to the students that class was over. Each kid grabbed their books and bags and headed out for lunch.

"Hinata. We should start our project today and get a head start since we're, y'know, not very good at math." Kageyama proposed.

"O-oh, like at... lunch?" 

"No, dumbass. Like... after school?" 

Hinata's face flushed red.

"Uh- yeah, sure." Hinata couldn't stop thinking about the soft hand in his hair earlier. "W-where?"

"Your place? We um... w-we can't go to mine."

Hinata cocked his head sideways in confusion.

"Sure. We have to watch Natsu because my parents won't be home tonight if that's okay with you. Natsu's been wanting to meet you anyways!" The awkward atmosphere slowed disintegrated.

"Oh, really...?" If Hinata looked close enough, Kageyama look as if he were... blushing?

"Yeah! C'mon, let's go get lunch. I didn't have any breakfast and I'm hungryyyy!" Hinata whined and grabbed Kageyama's arm, pulling the taller boy alongside him.

Hinata would at least make the best out of the last few days where he would allow himself to talk to Kageyama.

* * *

The wind blew through Hinata's messy hair while he pedaled slowly on his bike next to Kageyama. He was a little tense, as this would be the first time Kageyama would be inside Hinata's house. Inside his room. Inside-

Kageyama's arm shot out and grabbed Hinata's shoulder.

"Jeez, watch out, will you? Try not to fall over or I'm not gonna let you ride this bike anymore."

"S-sorry!" Hinata grinned nervously.

God, had he really just almost fallen over in front of Kageyama? He needed to start a conversation to distract them both from the fact that Hinata nearly ate shit on his bike a few seconds ago.

"Hey, why did you say that we couldn't we study at yours?" Hinata asked.

"Um... it's um- under construction. It's uh, getting painted... right now." Kageyama sighed at his terrible attempt of lying. Kageyama had always been a bad liar.

"Ah, okay. You should let me come over and see your house when it's done!" 

"Maybe. I uh... I don't know. I'll see." Kageyama stammered out choppily. 

Was Hinata overthinking, or was Kageyama acting strange?

* * *

Hinata unlocked and pulled open the door to his home.

"You can take your shoes off by-"

"NII-CHAN!" A short ball of orange hair came bolting towards the two. She looked exactly like Hinata. 

"Hey!" Hinata dove down and swooped the mini version of him into his arms. They both laughed while exchanging a tight hug.

"This is Kageyama!" Hinata pointed towards the uncomfortable boy who stood unnaturally still in his doorway. He was resting Natsu on his hip, rocking her back and forth delicately.

"Hi Kageyama!" The small girl smiled up at him with the same adorable smile that Hinata had.

"Hi." Kageyama contemplated on whether he should return a smile or not. He didn't want to scare her, he had been informed by Hinata that his smile was terrifying. Kageyama was not skilled at socializing. He couldn't smile on command, he never laughed, he couldn't even compliment anybody. He was only capable of being angry or sarcastic.

"How was your day at school, Littles?" Hinata set Natsu on the ground, pulling off his shoes waiting for her response. Kageyama took his shoes off and set them next to Hinata's, still feeling strangely out of place.

"Good! I got to make origami in class! Mine was so cool! Can I show you? Can I, can I?" 

"Of course!" Hinata responded.

The giddy girl scurried up the stairs to grab her paper creation.

Kageyama desperately wanted to get a conversation started before things got uncomfortably quiet.

"So uh... what's with the nickname?" Not a bad starter for someone who's pretty shit at talking to people.

"Oh! Well, when Natsu was first born I always called her Littles because I thought she looked like a little version of me, and I guess the nickname just stuck with us! She has a nickname for me, too." Hinata's mouth crinkled into a soft smile.

"You guys seem pretty close." 

"We are! This is gonna sound super cliche, but she's my best friend. We're really alike! She wants to be just like me when she grows up." Hinata explained, overflowing with pride.

"That's nice." 

Soft footsteps came charging down the carpeted stairs.

"Here!" Natsu said, shoving a tiny paper crane into her big brothers hands.

"Wow, Natsu! This is really cool!" Hinata admired the crane in his hands before handing it to Kageyama.

Kageyama held the fragile crane in one palm, examining it. The little girl looked up at Kageyama, as if she were expecting a compliment or some sort of reaction from him.

"U-uh... yeah, this is um... cool." That was the most insincere sounding compliment Kageyama had ever given. Did he hurt Natsu's feelings? He promised that he meant it! He's just... bad at expressing himself.

"Thanks!" Natsu reached for the crane with small wiggling fingers. Kageyama placed the paper creature in her tiny hands, watching her small fingers curl gingerly around the crane.

"Natsu, are you hungry? I can try to make something." Hinata offered.

Natsu nodded her head aggressively.

"I want fried rice, but Biggie sucks at cooking!" Natsu frowned. 

"Ouch, Natsu. That's harsh." 

"Um... w-well, I could make it." Kageyama volunteered timidly.

"Really! You can cook?" Hinata looked at Kageyama with disbelief.

"Yeah... I used to cook with my mom before she- um... yeah, my mom taught me."

"Cool! Let's go make some then! I wanna watch you cook!" Hinata jumped excitedly. "Natsu, put on a show while we make dinner." 

Natsu nodded her head at her brother and plopped down on the couch, her short legs dangling off the edge.

Hinata grabbed Kageyama's wrist and guided him to the kitchen.

"Cook away!" Hinata declared loudly.

"Okay um... well, can you get the rice, the rice cooker, and a wok? And maybe a few eggs, like... two." Kageyama glanced around Hinata's kitchen. It was clean, and really nice. Kageyama wished he lived in a house like this.

Hinata scrambled around his kitchen, grabbing the materials required to make fried rice.

* * *

Hinata watched as Kageyama stirred a pan full of rice.

He cracked an egg into the pan, creating a quiet sizzling sound as the egg slowly cooked.

_"He looks good when he cooks."_

Kageyama froze. He was pretty positive that Hinata hadn't meant for Kageyama to hear that though. He'll just keep to himself, it'd be better not to mention it. Kageyama had bigger problems anyways. Problems that went along the lines of: how do you get rid of a blush, and how do you get rid of it fast?

* * *

They set the table with spoons, napkins, and three bowls of warm fried rice.

"Wow, this looks really good Kageyama!" Hinata exclaimed, setting Natsu into her chair and pulling out his own seat.

"Thanks."

The three sat down at the table and began to eat.

"Hinata, can you pass me a napkin?" Kageyama asked.

Both of the siblings reached towards the pile of napkins located on the other side of the table. The two orange haired kids looked at each other, their hands outstretched and hovering over the same stack of napkins.

"He meant me." Hinata said.

"Well, I'm Hinata too!" Natsu pouted. "Kageyama! Call him Shoyo. Don't call him Hinata, because we're both Hinata. You can call me Natsu!"

The two boys faces turned bright red. They'd never used each others first names before. They were flustered just thinking about doing it.

"O-oh okay... well then, um... Sh-shoyo? Can you uh, pass me a napkin." Kageyama faltered.

As embarrassed as Hinata was, he almost wanted to laugh. A flustered Kageyama wasn't a familiar sight. It wasn't often that you'd see Kageyama like this.

"Y-yeah..." Shoyo picked up a small napkin and handed it to him quietly.

"What's your first name!" Natsu pointed a finger at Kageyama demandingly.

"Um... Tobio." He replied.

"Yay! Now you can call us by our first names and we can call you by yours!" 

Kageyama wasn't too fond of this idea, but there was no way he was going to tell the sweet little girl that he didn't want to. He just nodded his head in response.

Natsu was obviously overjoyed with the idea of being on a first name basis with her big brother's friend. She was so happy that she flung her limbs up in excitement, kicking the table a little too hard, and sending her glass of juice toppling over and spilling all over Shoyo.

"Ah, shi- I mean... shoot." Shoyo quickly stood up, his black shirt drenched in sticky apple juice.

"Oh no... sorry Biggie." Natsu's voice was filled with concern and guilt. She sounded on the verge of tears.

"No, don't worry Natsu, it's not your fault." He plopped a tiny kiss on the upset girl's head. "I think I'm gonna take a quick shower because I'm all sticky now. Kagey- um... Tobio, you watch Natsu really quick." Shoyo turned on his foot and sprinted up the stairs.

Shoyo turned the shower handle and pulled off his sticky shirt. He felt uncomfortable showering with a friend here. Especially when the friend was Kageyama. 

* * *

Kageyama wasn't good with kids. To be completely honest, he wasn't really good with people in general.

What is he supposed to say to Natsu? Should he turn on a show for her? Ask if she wants to color? Does she even-

"Tobio! Now that Biggie's gone, we can talk about him!" Natsu carried a slight hint of malice in her voice.

Natsu hopped out of her chair and grabbed Kageyama by his arm, dragging him upstairs and into her vibrant colored bedroom. 

Shoyo wasn't kidding when he said that Natsu was really similar to him.

"Biggie takes long showers, so we have a lot of time to talk!" Natsu giggled malevolently.

What is Natsu's intention with this conversation?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i hope you liked this chapter! i like this chapter a lot more than the previous two. i think i'm gonna start writing the next chapter right after i publish this one. so the next chapter should be out later tonight if i'm motivated enough to finish it, but if not, it will probably be out tomorrow! thanks for reading! don't be afraid to leave questions or comments, i'd love to answer some!


	4. lost secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata needs to get 'it' back, and he means now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm... i wonder what 'it' might be??? guess we'll just have to read to find out!  
> also sorry for the random switching between the names hinata and shoyo. just know that when i say hinata i mean hinata shoyo. unless i say 'the hinata's' then i just mean shoyo and natsu combined. if that makes any sense...

Kageyama observed his surroundings. Natsu's room with filled with lively colors. Neon pinks and yellows spread all around her room. Various stuffed animals and dolls littered around her room. Natsu shut the door to her room behind her and grinning wickedly. Kageyama felt relatively scared. What was this ten-year-old child planning?

"Okay, Tobio! Sit down on that bean bag!" Natsu pointed a small finger at a tiny pink bean bag in the corner of her room. Kageyama hesitantly stumbled over to the bean bag and settled down in it. It was significantly smaller than Kageyama, he probably looked like a giant in this tiny seat.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Kageyama asked the younger girl.

"Shoyo, of course!" She yelped out.

"Okay... what about Shoyo?"

"His secrets." Natsu grinned evilly. 

Okay, now Kageyama was scared shitless. Despite the fact that Kageyama was terrified, he would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about what Natsu had to say about Hinata.

"What secrets?" Kageyama felt bad about invading his privacy, but curiosity killed the cat, right?

"Hmm..." Natsu scratched at her fluffy hair, contemplating on which of the many secrets to spill. "Shoyo's scared of the dark!" 

You know, this honestly didn't surprise Kageyama.

"That's funny." Kageyama said.

"You're lying!" Natsu retorted.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kageyama's eyebrows furrowed.

"When things are funny, you're supposed to laugh or smile! You weren't doing any of those."

"Oh... well, I don't smile that much." 

"What? Why not? Me and Biggie are always smiling!" 

Kageyama knew that. The two siblings always had gigantic smiles plastered on their faces.

"I don't really know. I guess I've just never been good with expressing myself. I don't laugh very often. I don't smile in pictures. I'm just not very good at things like that." 

Why was Kageyama telling all of this to a ten-year-old? He didn't know, but he was going to continue.

"Hmm... I could help you try to smile!" 

"How?"

"I'll teach you! Come here!" Natsu patted the empty space on the floor beside her, motioning for Kageyama to sit next to her. She pulled out a small pink tablet and scrolled through the photos.

"See this?" Natsu clicked on a photo of the two siblings. "Look at our smiles, try to copy it!"

As much as Kageyama wished that he could, his face was not built for that kind of smile. He didn't have the big beady eyes, or the set of perfect white teeth, or the small button nose that the Hinata's had.

"I- I don't think I can."

"Just try!"

Kageyama curled the corners of his lips upwards. It felt unnatural. His lips felt out of place on his own face.

"You look like you're in pain." Natsu chucked a little. "Just try to relax your face."

Kageyama tried again, relaxing the muscles in his face and trying to smile. It still felt wrong. 

"Uh- it's a little better." Natsu scrunched her eyebrows. "Here. We can look through the videos I take of Biggie, maybe one will make you laugh."

Kageyama hated to admit it, but he liked this idea. He would get to see a side of Hinata that had only been revealed to his family. He watched as Natsu scrolled through the videos folder on her tablet, finally choosing a video and pressing play.

It was only a few weeks ago. Shoyo stood in the kitchen, flour all over his face, at least 4 unsuccessfully cracked eggs laid out on the counter, and pancake batter all over the kitchen table. He was positioned up against the fridge, deep in thought. He turned his head to face Natsu, who was probably standing in the entrance to the kitchen.

"What, Natsu?" Shoyo looked directly at the camera.

"I just wanted to have proof that you suck at cooking." She replied from behind the tablet.

"Littles, you're so mean!" Shoyo grabbed a handful of flower and chucked it in the camera's direction. You could hear Natsu's high-pitched giggles loud and clear. Natsu set the tablet down to face the two, recording the messy flour fight between her and her big brother. The two ran around the kitchen, throwing fistfuls of flour at each other. They were both hysterically laughing while dodging balls of flour left and right. Their fun was quickly interuppted.

"Shoyo! Natsu! What is going on?" Their seemingly upset mother came walking into the video frame. They both stood beside each other, covered in flour. Shoyo picked up another handful of flower and chucked it in his own mother's face.

Kageyama couldn't help but let out a quiet snicker.

"Flour fight!" Shoyo declared.

"Shoyo, you're dead meat!" His mom grabbed 2 fistfuls of flower and nailed both of her children in the face with the powder. The video went on for a few more minutes, the three Hinata's darting around the kitchen throwing flour in every direction possible. 

"I wanna watch the video!" Shoyo stopped running around. He walked over to the tablet to stop the video before a gigantic pile of flour was dumped on his head. Shoyo turned around slowly, revealing his mom holding the empty bag of flour. 

"You little..." Shoyo wrapped his sister and mom in a tight hug and aggressively shook his powdery hair in his family's direction, covering them in flour.

The trio stood silently for a mere few seconds until they burst into heavy laughter. Shoyo's smile was the brightest one there. His expression was filled with pure bliss. Shoyo walked over to the tablet once again, ready to finally turn off the video. He was only a few inches from the camera when he slipped on what must've been a heap of flour that had collected on the floor during their fight. He fell straight down and hit the ground with a hard thud.

Kageyama was at his breaking point. He burst out into hysterical laughter. Natsu set her tablet down and pressed record, she was determined to catch the emotionally constipated Kageyama Tobio, having a laughing fit. 

Kageyama was aggressively clutching his sides, desperately gasping for air. 

"Ow... ohahow!" Kageyama was in excruciating pain from laughing so hard, he could barely speak. Every time he tried, he'd just break into another fit of laughter. Natsu laughed with the taller boy. They probably laughed for 5 solid minutes until they both calmed down. 

Kageyama had a smile plastered on his face. He couldn't make it go away, but he was too exhausted to try. He wasted all of his energy in those few minutes of straight laughter. They laid on the floor, breathing heavily in pure silence.

They both jumped at the sound of Natsu's door clicking open.

"Natsu? Did you take Kag- Tobio?" Hinata peered only his head in through the door, his orange hair still dripping wet.

"Yeah, sorry!" 

"No, it's fine! Do you... have one of my shirts? I think I let you have a few to sleep in last week, but all of my laundry is dirty and I need a shirt." Hinata explained, hidden behind the door.

"Check my closet." 

"W-well... can you get it? I don't really want to... I uh- I don't have a shirt on. Can you just get it?" Hinata was blushing an excessive amount.

"Biggie, my stomach hurtssss, I really can't get up right now. It doesn't matter if you don't have a shirt on. I'm your sister, and Tobio's a boy. Just hurry up!" Natsu complained.

Hinata groaned and shyly walked into Natsu's room. He was wearing baggy grey sweats, and as he had said before, no shirt. Kageyama couldn't help but stare. Not in that way though! He was just... admiring his teammates... body? Kageyama wanted to make sure that Hinata was in good shape for volleyball. Yeah! That's it. That's why Kageyama was staring so intensely.

Hinata might be on the smaller and skinnier side, but wow, he was toned. His skin was fair and chiseled. Kageyama felt his eyes trace over every curve and every muscle on Hinata's body. 

Hinata tugged open Natsu's closet door and scanned the closet. He let out a small noise of excitement as he dragged a large white t-shirt off of a clothing hanger. He pulled the shirt over his damp hair and down his body. Kageyama watched as the thin white cloth covered each muscle on Hinata's body.

This was a normal thing for guys to do, right? He was simply double-checking to confirm that Hinata wasn't malnourished, or too beefy for his size. Everybody does this.

Do they?

Hinata ruffled his wet hair and turned to face Kageyama.

"Why are you smiling? Are you smiling because I was half naked? Pervert!" Hinata yelled in his face mockingly.

"N-no Shoyo what the hell!" Kageyama replied defensively.

"I'm teasing!" Hinata cracked a smile and sat down on the floor next to the two. "We still have to do our project, you remember that right?" 

Kageyama's eyes flew open wide.

"Oh shi-...oot..." Kageyama glanced over to Natsu, hoping she didn't catch the vulgar word that almost slipped from the tip of his tongue. "Should we try to start that? It's already 8:00 PM, I have to get home in an hour so we might as well try to do something on it before I go." 

"Yeah, sure. Natsu, it's time for bed! I'll tuck you in." Hinata scooped his tired sister up from the floor, and placed her small body in the comfortable bed. "I love you, Littles. Sleep tight!" Hinata pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, before turning on the night light and shutting the door behind him and Kageyama.

Hinata lead Kageyama to his room, swinging the door open. His room was messy, as expected. Kageyama had always been a neat freak. His room was bland, but spotless. Hinata had posters hung on every inch of the wall, articles of clothing laid astray on the floors. 

"Sorry... I'm not a very good cleaner." Hinata stifled out an awkward laugh.

"I can see that." 

"Oh, shut up!" Hinata smacked Kageyama on the arm. Hinata grabbed his backpack and flopped on the bed, signaling for Kageyama to copy his actions and come sit with him.

"Let's get started!" Hinata exclaimed.

* * *

They sat together for the next hour, taking notes and doing bothersome math problems as a starter for their project.

Kageyama glanced at the clock on Hinata's night-stand. "Shit, it's already 9:15. I should probably get going before my m-mom... tries to- um... before she gets worried." 

"Hm? Oh, okay! I'll see you out the door." Hinata threw the math notebook into his drawer. "Oh wait, do you want the notebook so you can copy the notes down later?" 

"Yeah, sure." 

Hinata pulled open the drawer and handed him the notebook. They walked down the stairs together and Kageyama pulled his shoes on.

"Y-you should... come over... again." Hinata smiled nervously.

"Sure." Kageyama stood up and grabbed the door handle. "Thanks for having me over. Let's hang out again soon, okay?" 

Hinata nodded at him, and Kageyama silently nodded back. Hinata watched as Kageyama backed out the door, slowly shutting it after him. 

Light footsteps treaded down the stairs. Hinata glanced behind him.

"Natsu? I thought you were asleep?" 

"I couldn't sleep until I showed you this video of Tobio." Natsu pulled out her little pink tablet and pressed play on the video she had recorded earlier. Hinata looked down at the screen in curiosity. 

The sound of Kageyama's laughter filled the air in no time. His smile was clear as day in the video. Hinata was sure he'd never seen Kageyama smile like that before. His smile was so... perfect. Why didn't he ever show it? His laugh was contagious. Why didn't he ever laugh? Kageyama always hid the best aspects of him. Hinata found a small grin growing on his face.

"What are you guys laughing so hard about?" Hinata wanted to know what Natsu had done to make the boy who was in a constant state of anger, be purely happy.

"I showed him the video of me, you, and Mom playing with flour. He laughed a little when you threw the first handful of flour at Mom, and then he couldn't stop laughing when you slipped at the end of the video." 

Kageyama laughed at two things - and they were both about Hinata. Hinata could feel his heart practically jump out of his ass. 

"Send that to me. Then, let's go to bed." Natsu texted the video to her brother, then lead herself to her own room and laid down for the night.

"Love you, goodnight!" Hinata yelled down the hall. A faint 'love you too' could be heard coming from Natsu's room.

* * *

Hinata laid down in his bed, he wasn't tired yet. Ah - good idea!

Hinata reached into his desk drawer to grab his 'special notebook'. He pulled out a notebook and flipped it open.

**Wait.**

This has notebook has our math notes in it. 

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Seriously.

Wait.

Hinata flipped through all of the pages, scanning every pencil stroke up and down. These were all math notes!

Then what notebook did he give to Kageyama?

There's no way.

He wasn't that stupid.

He couldn't have...

He really did.

He gave Kageyama his journal. The journal where he wrote down everything. 

And he means everything.

Every emotion, every feeling, every interaction.

That notebook that's currently with Kageyama is FILLED with things about Kageyama.

Hinata smacked himself on the head.

Stupid Hinata! How could he be so careless with something so private like that?

It's already 10 PM. He can't tell Kageyama to not read the notebook. That'll definitely make him want to look. Plus, it's too suspicious. Who offers to give someone their math notes and then tells them they can't open the notebook anymore?

Kageyama hates school work. He probably won't try to copy it down until tomorrow. It's late anyways, he's probably tired. Hinata will just have to go to Kageyama's and retrieve the notebook tomorrow. 

Hinata couldn't believe his deepest secrets were in Kageyama's possession. One wrong page flip and Hinata's social life would be down the drain. If Kageyama read any of that, he'd never show his face in public again. He'd have to move to Mexico and start a new life. 

This is just fucking great, isn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy! how was the chapter ;))) i'm super excited to write the 5th chapter. i have a pretty good idea of what to write and it's gonna be pretty good, i gotta say. stick around! chapter 5 will be released on jan 1st or 2nd! thanks for reading once again! leave comments or questions!


	5. hidden behind closed doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip to Kageyama's house to retrieve Hinata's diary doesn't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: abuse, alcoholism  
> proceed to this chapter with caution! if ur sensitive to these things, please skip this chapter!  
> prepare yourselves, this is the angst that you've all been waiting for!  
> im so sorry for ruining the light heartedness of this fic >.<  
> i think my next fic is going to be PURE fluff!  
> by the way, i did change the work title. it used to be 'i'll make him like me' but it was only a temporary title because i wasn't really sure what to title it. i didn't have the whole idea planned out for the story, i just kinda went with whatever i wanted to each chapter... sooo... here's the new title! enjoy the chapter :)

Morning came slow. Hinata spent the whole night racking his brain over the thought that Kageyama had his diary. He had probably gotten about 4 hours of sleep. The time reached 9AM, and Hinata flew out the door of his house running to Kageyama's place without second thought. He clutched the real math journal in his hands tightly.

He knew he probably should've let Kageyama know he was on his way, but one more wasted minute could lead to a minute of Kageyama reading that journal. Hinata was sleep deprived, hungry, and uneasy - but nothing was going to stop him from getting that book back.

* * *

Hinata clutched his heaving chest. He picked up a heavy arm and knocked on the door several times. 

No answer.

Hinata knocked a few more times before the door unexpectedly swung open. He barely opened the door, leaving only a head's width of space between the door frame and the door. Kageyama peered out the door.

"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Kageyama muttered quietly.

"I accidentally gave you my um... English journal instead of the math one. Can I get that back? Here's the math journal." Hinata held out the bright yellow notebook.

"Oh okay. Um... can you maybe, come back later? Or I can uh- drop it off later today. I uh- can't take it right now." Kageyama spoke with an unnerving tone. He kept glancing behind him, eyes darting from Hinata to the inside of his house.

Shit. Hinata needed it now.

"No!" Kageyama flinched at Hinata's raised voice, jolting his head to look back inside his home one more time. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Can I just get that now please? I really need it. I have to send- Yachi... my notes." 

"I- Hinata, really... I can't get it to you right now." 

"Why not?" The volume of Hinata's voice increased.

"I can't- I um... I don't know. I just- I really... need you to um, leave." 

There was no way that Hinata was leaving without that diary in his hands. Kageyama's distressed behavior was making Hinata nervous, but he needed that diary. 

"Please!!!" Hinata was getting extremely close to getting on his knees and begging.

"No- Hinata. P-please leave. I promise I'll get it to you later. I really need... you just need to leave." The longer Hinata stood on Kageyama's porch, the more anxious Kageyama grew. It was strange for Kageyama to be this way, usually he would get angry. At this point, he should've smacked his head or slammed the door in his face. Why hadn't he yet? Why did he look like he was going to vomit at any moment?

Hinata wasn't thinking straight, and in a fit of adrenaline, he pushed past Kageyama and ran to his room.

Kageyama immediately chased after Hinata the moment he took a step inside. 

"Hinata, what the fuck?" Kageyama was still whispering, while trailing behind Hinata as they both sprinted up the stairs. Kageyamed pummeled the smaller boy over once they reached his room. They tumbled onto the hardwood floor, crashing into Kageyama's desk.

"Hinata. What the fuck is wrong with you? Get out of my house." Kageyama was definitely angry now, but his voice was still filled with fear. Hinata mentally slapped himself for breaking into Kageyama's house, but he's already inside. It might be a little too late to backtrack. 

"Just agh- give me the nh-notebook!" Hinata squirmed underneath Kageyama's strong grasp. He jolted out from under Kageyama, but he slammed into the desk and knocked over the small lamp that was once positioned neatly on the desk corner. The lamp came flying down and hit the solid floor with a loud crack.

"Shit!" Kageyama scurried over to the broken lamp.

"Shoot! Kageyama, I'm sorry! Was that lamp expensive? I can-" Hinata was quickly cut off by the sound of Kageyama shushing him. Loud foodsteps came pounding up the stairs. 

"Fuck! Hinata, closet!" 

"W-what?" Closet? What the hell does that mean?

"You idiot! Hide in my fucking closet!" Kageyama pointed. "Now! I fucking mean it, move your ass!" 

Hinata hurriedly picked himself up from the ground and threw himself inside Kageyama's closet. 

Why did he have to get in here? If a parent was coming upstairs, he could just say Hinata needed to grab something. Why make Hinata hide? It's not like they were dealing drugs in his bedroom together. He was just stopping by to grab a notebook. What's the big deal?

Hinata flinched at the sound of Kageyama's bedroom door fly open. He peered out the crack in the door of the dresser. He saw a short woman enter Kageyama's room. He watched as she examined the walls before locking her eyes on Kageyama cleaning the pieces of broken glass on his floor.

"What the fuck is this, Tobio?" The woman sounded furious.

Kageyama flinched at her harsh tone.

"A lamp." Kageyama snarled, "And don't call me Tobio. It's Kageyama to you." 

"I'll call you whatever I want to." She crossed her arms resentfully. "Care to explain why the lamp is in pieces on your floor?"

"I just fell and knocked it over." 

"Oh, you fell?" 

Kageyama nodded his head.

"Of course you did. You klutzy piece of shit. Good work. Breaking news! Kageyama Tobio can't keep his fucking balance at age 16." The woman sneered at the boy and laughed. Kageyama visibly tensed up. Hinata had never seen Kageyama like this before. 

"S-sorry." Kageyama whimpered.

"Speak up, I can't hear you when you whine like a little bitch." 

"Sorry. I said sorry! What else do you want from me?" 

"Seriously?" She scoffed loudly. "You are a fucking brat. I can't wait until you move out. I can't stand you."

Things were getting serious. Hinata had suspicions that this was a set-up. Maybe a funny prank or something? 

But things didn't seem like a joke anymore.

"I can't stand you, either." Kageyama stood up and shoved past the woman, holding a handful of broken glass from the lamp. 

"Did you just shove me?" The woman was overflowing with rage.

"Yeah. Nice observation." Kageyama retaliated. 

"You- you shit!" The woman lifted an arm and shoved the taller boy against his book shelf. The pressure from the impact causing a few books to fall off.

Shit. This really wasn't a joke. Things were starting to get physical. Should Hinata jump out and help him? What should he do? He can't just sit and watch, but he knows deep down that he shouldn't interfere. It was Hinata's fault that Kageyama was in this position in the first place.

Kageyama grunted, wincing in pain when his shoulder blade collided with the hard frame of the book shelf. 

"You need to be disciplined. You'll never get anywhere in life if you act like a little shit for the rest of your life. Be thankful that we provide a roof over your head and our unconditional love."

Kageyama exploded with laughter. This would be the second time that Hinata had ever seen Kageyama laugh. Except, this time, he didn't seem overjoyed. His laugh wasn't warm or gleeful. 

"Unconditional love? You have to be joking! Unconditional love, my ass! Do you call the constant stench of alcohol unconditional love? Do you call the constant pushing and shoving unconditional love? Parents who love their child unconditionally don't force their kids to do everything by themselves. They don't kick their children out every other night. They don't make their kid sleep on the cold grass outside. You're just a fucking bitch." Tears were flowing down Kageyama's cheeks.

"Why, you little..." The woman took a lazy hand and delivered a firm slap across his left cheek. Kageyama clasped the side of his face with shock. She gave him another firm shove, sending him backwards and falling onto the floor. The sound of the falling glass filled their ears, watching as the pile of glass scattered swiftly across the floor.

It took Hinata every ounce of strength in his body to resist pouncing on this woman and beating the shit out of her. Hinata held sweaty palms up to his mouth, trying to prevent any sound from escaping his body. Hinata knew it would only make matters worse if he tried to interfere, but he's never had to hold back an urge this strong before.

"Look! You dropped the fucking glass again!" She bent down and scooped up the glass. Before Kageyama was able to stand up, she began pelting shards of broken glass at him. Kageyama shielded his face with his arms, trying to dodge the sharp fragments from hitting his eyes. The scratches on Kageyama's arms only managed to grow in quantity. It didn't take long before Kageyama's arms began to drip with blood. 

A small tear fell from Hinata's eye. 

"This is pathetic." The woman ridiculed with a sick smile on her face. Kageyama slowly lifted his head from his arms. She picked up the last piece of glass from her hand, and chucked it directly at Kageyama's face.

Thanks to volleyball, Kageyama had fast reflexes, but they weren't fast enough. The shard flew towards his cheekbone, leaving a clean slice directly on his cheek. Kageyama flinced at the feeling of cold air hit his fresh injury. Warm and salty tears slipped into the cut, only making it worse for Kageyama to deal with. 

The woman wheeled around and left out Kageyama's door, whistling an unbothered tune as she made her way back down the stairs. Kageyama sat still on his floor, stuck in a state of shock from the previous events. 

Hinata couldn't blame Kageyama for being so flabbergasted. After all, Hinata was the exact same. He couldn't get himself to move. As bad as he wanted to burst out of the closet and wrap Kageyama in a close hug, he couldn't move.

He can't stay in this closet all day. He needed to move eventually. Hinata shuffled around in the closet, placing a shaking hand on the closet door, and slowly pushing it open.

The sunlight hit Hinata's eyes harshly. He had gotten used to the dark closet. Once his vision adjusted to the brightness, he immediately looked down at the crying Kageyama, still dripping from his wounds.

"Kageya-"

"Get out." Kageyama cut off Hinata's pitiful sentence.

"Huh?"

"Get. out." Kageyama repeated.

"N-no! Let me-"

"Get the fuck out, Hinata! Leave!" 

"B-but, I want to help you!"

"Hinata! Don't you ever fucking listen? You didn't listen when I told you to leave the first time. Or the second. Or the third. I've asked you to leave like 9 times already. I'm tired of asking you. This is isn't a question anymore. This isn't a debate of whether you should or shouldn't stay. I don't care what you have to say. I don't need your pity. I need you to leave."

Silence stretched between the two. Hinata was speechless.

"FUCKING LEAVE! GET OUT! FUCK OFF!" Kageyama stood up and shoved Hinata. Hinata was taken aback by Kageyama's outburst. He couldn't find any words. He just wanted to stay and help Kageyama. 

"But you're bleeding!" 

"Hinata... stop. Please. I just want you to get out." Kageyama looked up at Hinata with teary eyes. They weren't normal teary eyes though. These eyes were filled with an indistinguishable emotion. He'd never seen Kageyama like this before. 

"Stop being selfish! This isn't about how you feel! This isn't about how YOU want to stay, or how YOU want to help, or how YOU this and YOU that. I have asked you multiple times to GET OUT. I mean it this time. Everything you saw was none of your business. Forget about it."

"How am I supposed to forget-"

"STOP! Just stop, Hinata! I am so fed up with telling you over and over to leave my fucking house. Stop acting like I need you! I don't need you! I never fucking did! Get out of my room, get out of my house, and get out of my life! GET THE FUCK OUT!" Kageyama was gasping for air inbetween his sobs and screams.

Every word that Kageyama blurted out was heart-piercing, but two specific things stuck with Hinata.

_I don't need you._

_Get out of my life._

Without a word, Hinata sprinted out of Kageyama's room. Flying down the stairs and out the door. He slammed the front door behind him and bolted down the street. Heavy tears poured down the orange-haired boy's cheeks while he ran back home. Tears blurred his vision. His head was pounding and ringing. The cold wind pierced his wet eyes like knives.

What had Hinata done? 

He, without a doubt, just ruined everything.

It's all over.

This was the end of the famous duo. Goodbye to their freak quick, goodbye to their inseparability, goodbye to walking home together. Goodbye to everything.

Hinata had finally done it. He had destroyed them.

Kageyama hadn't read the diary yet, but Hinata should book his plane tickets to Mexico early. He's already gone and done the worst thing possible, it wouldn't kill him to start a new life.

Maybe he'll find a nice person to elope with. Y'know, run away and get married?

Or he could dye his hair black and take on the name 'Johnny Smith'. 

Wait, why would he- okay, nevermind.

Mexico it is. Everything else is too complicated. 

Hinata picked up his phone and pressed the call button.

* * *

His phone released a beeping sound as the line connected.

?: "What? You know I don't like phone calls."

H: "I know, I know. I'm sorry Kenma!"

K: "So, what do you need?" 

H: "Can you buy me a plane ticket to Mexico?"

K: "Fuck off, Shoyo." 

H: "I'm serious! I'm never showing my face in public ever again! I need to leave. I gotta get out and start a new life over in Mexico. Join a new family. Maybe have some children?"

K: "Shoyo, you're 16. Do not have any children."

H: "Kenma! You're no help!"

K: "Then why'd you call?"

H: "Ugh! You suck! Okay, I need help. A lot of help.

K: "I don't know how much I can help, but I'll try I guess. Make it quick though, I need to do some chores."

H: "Chores? Kenma, what chores?"

K: "Okay, I just wanna play games but it doesn't matter. Hurry up, you're wasting time."

* * *

Hinata rambled on for a few minutes about how he made a grave mistake and royally fucked up.

* * *

H: "So, that's why my life is over and why I NEED you to buy me a ticket to Mexico."

K: "Hm..."

H: "Is that all you're gonna say!? I didn't spill my emotions out to you just for you to respond with 'hm'."

K: "You know I'm not good with advice."

H: Yeahhh, but you're good at being blunt. Just be straight-forward! What do I do!??" 

K: "Ugh. Okay first, you're being dramatic. Second, I don't want to buy you a ticket to Mexico. Get it yourself. Third, just give it time. He's obviously having a bad time too. You both just need a few minutes to cool down. He didn't mean any of it, he was probably just worked out. I mean, for fucks sake, that lady was chucking glass at him. It's not your fault. Just stop worrying about it for two seconds. I'm sure you'll figure something out. I'm going now. That was the most you've ever made me talk and now I'm tired."

H: "Okay... bye Kenma."

K: "Bye."

The second beep signaled that the line had disconnected. 

Yup, Hinata was definitely going to move to Mexico and never face anybody again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whewwww, i hope the writing wasn't too bad. i'm not the best at writing angst... but, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. i'm not sure how much i like this chapter, it feels a little out of place and randomly intense, but maybe thats just me overthinking things and critiquing myself too hard. anyways... one more chapter to go! im sorry about the sudden darkness i threw at you all... i tried not to make it too painful heh. see you next chapter!


	6. roommate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frankly, Hinata is tired of this all. He needs to end it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did add one last chapter... stick around just a little longer! it will be up soon!  
> !!!!! tw: briefly mentioned abuse, alcoholism, bruises, and unhealthy eating patterns !!!!!

Kageyama held his face in his clammy palms. What did he do? Why did he say those things? He knew he didn't mean them, so why?

He ruined everything.

* * *

The piercing ring of the alarm clock startled Hinata out of his slumber. He groggily turned over and silenced the clock before it could continue making those abhorrent noises.

He gradually gathered the strength to drag himself out of bed and to the bathroom. He felt sick. His brain was cloudy and he felt disgusting. He stumbled to the bathroom blearily.

He shoved the bathroom door open and stared up at his reflection.

Holy shit. He looked like hell. Hinata couldn't help but laugh at how much of a mess he had become overnight. He examined his dark eye bags up close in the mirror.

Maybe a shower will help him not look like death itself?

He turned the shower knob to cold and stripped himself from his sweat and tear drenched clothes. The frigid water hit his skin like icicles. This sure did wake him up.

* * *

Hinata grabbed his backpack and headed out the door of his home.

"No breakfast?" 

Hinata turned at the sound of a voice. "Oh- um, not today... I'll get food at school. Early morning practice, y'know." Hinata smiled forcibly at his mom.

"Oh, okay. Have a good day." She waved him out the door with a friendly grin.

Hinata hadn't even walked for five minutes yet, but he already felt extremely fatigued. If he's in terrible shape from this short leisurely walk, how was practice going to go?

Fuck! Kageyama. He didn't even think about that. What was he going to do? How could he face him after yesterday?

* * *

Hinata pushed the gym doors open weakly. Multiple heads turned at the sound of the door. 

"Hey." Hinata called out to his team members, purposefully avoiding Kageyama's gaze.

Tanaka met eyes with the tired middle blocker. "Hey Hinata- woah, holy shit. You look... terrible." Sugawara mumbled a reprimanding 'Tanaka!' and gave him a light smack on the back of his head. 

"Come sit down." The grey-haired setter gestured towards the floor where the group gathered at the beginning of every practice. Hinata bowed his head and squatted on the floor opposite of Kageyama, exactly like he had done a few days prior. 

* * *

"Time for partner stretches. Choose a partner and get started." Daichi instructed to the team.

Shit. Partner? Normally Hinata would pick Kageyama, but now that wasn't an option. 

"Noya-senpai! Partner with me!" Hinata blurted out. Nishinoya needed no convincing, he was easily persuaded by the being called the honorary title of 'senpai'. Teammates exchanged perplexed looks, thrown off by the fact that Hinata did not want to partner with Kageyama.

"Alright! I'll hold your feet down while you do 30 crunches!" Nishinoya placed to small hands on the top of Hinata's feet and leaned his weight into his hands.

Hinata's upper body began bobbing up and down, muscles tensing with every aching motion. Crunches seemed a lot harder than they usually were. After a minute, Hinata would've been done with his crunches, but in sixty seconds, he had only managed thirteen crunches. Exhaustion creeped upon and consumed his body faster than normal.

They continued the stretches for 5 more minutes until they were ordered to start practicing. Normally, Hinata and Kageyama would practice their quick, but they both knew that wouldn't be happening today. Or for a while. Maybe forever?

* * *

"Suga? Can you set to me?" Hinata wobbled over to the other setter.

"Hm? But, what about Kageyama?" He quirked his head in confusion.

"Oh- um, I just wanted to... get like, experience. Y'know? Like, practice with other setters to- um... see how good I am?"

"Okay... let's go then." Suga contorted his face to an expression that represented pure worry. He tried not to make a big deal and just grabbed a ball and led Hinata to the net. 

Hinata and Suga weren't in sync. Hinata wasn't in sync with anybody.

He wasn't even in sync with himself.

It didn't take long for Suga to realize this. "Hinata, I think we should stop. You're getting tired-"

"One more!" Hinata did not hesitate to cut him off. Suga released a heavy sigh, and tossed one more ball. Hinata jumped up high and slammed the ball onto the other side of the court. His feet landed on the hard floor with a satisfactory smack. Though the following sound wasn't as satisfactory as the previous one.

"Yes! We finally got a good-" Suga paused, mid celebration. "Hinata...?"

Hinata's legs gave out before he was able to land safely. His knees buckled from the pressure and Hinata fell flying backwards. His spine slammed hard into the floor, leaving Hinata with a pounding pain.

"Hinata! Are you okay?" Suga quickly sprinted to the boy that laid sprawled out on the ground. The other team members followed shortly behind. Including Kageyama.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine. I just lost my balance." Hinata giggled and wiped dust off of his shorts. He was going to look up and give a reassuring smile to the team, until his vision started going blurry. He felt nauseous.

"Hinata?"

Everything sounded like an echo. Like he was underwater. Voices became distant, as if they were running from him. The familiar faces turned to blurry dots. Hinata stumbled on his feet, falling backwards a second time. 

* * *

Hinata sat up slowly, he felt weirdly sick. He surveyed his surroundings.

Chair.

Desk.

Computer.

Calendar.

Random woman.

Wait- random woman?

The nurses office. He was in the nurses office. But, why?

"Ah! You're awake. It's been around a half-an-hour. I was informed by your teammates that you fainted out of nowhere."

Fainted? Hinata hadn't ever fainted before.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" The nice lady asked.

"Go ahead." Hinata was flustered by the situation. He couldn't remember anything from the past hour.

"Did you eat anything today?" 

Did he? It was a lot harder to think right now. His morning was foggy and memories were forbidding.

"No, I don't think I did."

"Alright." The lady scribbled down notes in pen.

"Did you get a lot of sleep?" 

"No."

"Have you had anything to drink?"

"Probably not."

The nurse finished her pen stroke and looked up at the boy.

"I think you fainted because you haven't gotten anything in your system today. I'm gonna send you off to class with a granola bar and a juice box. Eat that to bring up your blood sugar levels, okay?" The nurse rumaged through a box in her cupboard, pulling out the snacks. She placed them in Hinata's hand and gave him a refreshing smile, then let him out of the nurse's office.

The bright sunlight burned Hinata's eyes. He grabbed his pounding head and made way to class.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Two days had passed since Hinata's little 'incident'. He had another morning practice. This time, he made sure to get plenty sleep and eat enough food to avoid a situation like last time.

Hinata walked into the club room, immediately getting swarmed by concerned teammates.

"Are you okay? What happened last practice?"

"Nothing much." Hinata laughed awkwardly. "I just didn't get enough sleep or food that day so, yeah." 

"Don't pass out today!" Tanaka gave him a light clap on his shoulder, and the boys returned to their lockers. 

"Shit!" Kageyama cried out.

The boys turned their heads towards the sudden sound. Kageyama had gotten his long sleeve shirt stuck on his locker door during his attempt to pull it off. His shirt was halfway slung over his shoulders, a corner of the shirt clinging desperately to the locker. 

The two rowdiest boys, Nishinoya and Tanaka, laughed at Kageyama, encouraging Tsukishima to let out a small snicker. Hinata decided not to engage, as bad as he wanted to tease Kageyama, he wouldn't. 

Tanaka and Noya found it in their hearts to go and help Kageyama out of his shirt.

It was embarassing, he was genuinely stuck. 

Tanaka pulled the shirt over his head and pulled his arms out of the sleeves. 

"There we go!" Tanaka smiled, clapping his hands satisfyingly. Hinata couldn't help but glance over at Kageyama, who had turned beet red. Despite looking flustered, he looked terrified. His eyes frantically darted around the room. He was covering scattered parts of his upper body. 

Oh no. Oh god. Hinata felt terrible. He was hiding bruises. Bruises given to him by the mean lady that appeared in his room that day. He was hiding scratches and scabs. 

"Woah, Kageyama! You're ripped, dude. Why don't you ever show off your body? C'mon, do a little 360 turn! We wanna see!" Noya directed.

"N-no... I'm- um not comfortable... with that." 

Oh my god. Hinata should say something. But what? It's pure torture to stand and watch this unfold, but he doesn't want to bring tensions any higher than they already are.

"Stop hiding! Show us!" Tanaka and Noya ripped his Kageyama's shielding arms away from his toned body. To their surprise, not only did they see the heavily defined muscles on Kageyama, but they also saw dark bruises and deep wounds that laid on top of said muscles.

"Holy fuck! What happened?" The two boys screamed out.

"I-I fell." That was a shit lie, and Kageyama knew it.

"Dude, did you fall down forty flights of stairs? A simple 'fall' doesn't leave marks like that. Tell the truth! What happened? Do we have to beat someone up? Are they a first-year? Second-year? Girl? Boy? A random alley-way druggie? Maybe a homeless-" 

Kageyama interrupted the two obnoxious teens. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He pulled on a new long sleeve and left the club room as fast as he could. The teammates exchanged concerned looks, they all knew something was up, but they knew it wasn't their business. Hinata was the only one there that knew what kind of situation he was in, but it wasn't his place to tell.

* * *

Another week passed since the team noticed Kageyama's injuries. They all wanted to do something to help, but they knew they shouldn't. If he really wanted help, he would've asked for it. Right? Maybe that logic was dumb, but they all knew that it would be better to not get everybody involved in his personal life.

Each day passing led to Kageyama growing more and more distant from the team. He barely ever spoke, he didn't get angry at anyone, he stopped caring when Hinata fumbled a spike, and worst of all, by the looks of it - he had stopped eating.

Hinata couldn't let this go on any longer, but how would he address the problem? 

The sound of doors squeaking open cut off his train of thought. Kageyama shuffled into the gym. If Hinata had to be honest, Kageyama hadn't looked so good for the past week or so, but today, he looked... horrible. His skin was paler than usual, his eyes were downturned and tired, dark eyebags surrounding his whole eye, his cheekbones were growing alarmingly visible.

Is there a nice way to say that he looked dead? Because he did. In the sweetest way possible, Kageyama looked like he just rose from his coffin.

As funny as he tried to make it sound, it didn't feel right. Hinata's stomach sank whenever he looked at the (mentally and physically) exhausted boy.

Kageyama squatted down to set his bag on the floor. Hinata examined carefully. The deathly looking boy stood up, taking a slight stumble backwards. Kageyama grabbed his head in anguish and leaned against the gym wall before he almost toppled over.

Instinctively, Hinata channeled some thoughts to Kageyama.

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Kageyama?"_

_"Answer me. I know you can hear me."_

...

_"I'm fine, Hinata."_

Bullshit. 

Alright, Hinata has had enough. To hell with the fact that they were avoiding each other. Hinata couldn't stand by and watch for a second more. He stomped over to Kageyama and grabbed him by the wrist, escorting him outside and shutting the doors behind them. 

"What?" Kageyama grunted out, his voice was quiet and weak.

"What do you mean "what"? Ever since the team found out about... you know... you've been weird. You're really skinny now, you're ghostly pale, you're tired all the time, you've barely been eating, and you're half-assing volleyball. I know something is up." 

Kageyama fidgeted with a loose thread that dangled from his sweater.

"Kageyama... you're scaring me. I'm really worried about you. Seriously, what's going on? I already know the main cause, just tell me. To be frank with you, I've missed you a lot." Hinata's eyes were filled with sincerity. 

"My step-mom. She's been drinking a lot more, and so has my dad. She's rubbing off on my dad. He used to be scared of her, but now he's just becoming her. The physical stuff has gotten a lot worse. I really can't handle it anymore. They keep kicking me out at night. I've been sleeping on our lawn these last few days. They trashed my room, took all of things and sold it. Including the music-box I got from my mom. I- I dunno, I'm tired." 

Hinata was positive that his heart audibly shattered. He felt tears run down his soft cheeks. Why was Hinata crying? It shouldn't be him crying, Kageyama should be the one crying. He had every right to, so why was Hinata shedding tears for him?

"Kageyama..." Hinata's voice filled with sorrow. He reach a small arm out to grab the other boy's hand. When their skin made contact, Kageyama flinched away by reflex. Hinata was sure that his heart just broke for a second time that day. "It's okay, it's just me. How are you feeling? Is there anything you want?" Hinata gently clasped Kageyama's hand, trying not to startle him.

"I just... want to leave. I wanna be away from them." Kageyama's voice was breaking with every pain-ridden word.

"Stay at my house for a while." Hinata proposed.

"No, I don't wanna be a burden-" 

"Kageyama Tobio. You are not a burden. You never will be. This is my offer and I want you to accept it. You can stay with me as long as you need. I'm not allowing you to go back to that household until they've gone to rehab and therapy." Hinata clenched Kageyama's hand a little tighter. Kageyama looked at Hinata and gave him a sad nod. 

* * *

"Biggie!" Natsu screamed and lunged at her brother who stood in the doorway. "Tobio!" Kageyama let out a sad smile in a weak attempt to say 'hi' back. Hinata twirled the small girl in his arms before setting her on the couch. 

"Mom?" Hinata called out. A woman with dark hair peered out from the kitchen.

"Hey, Sho!" 

"Hi. Do you think Kageyama could stay with us for a while?" This was a big favor to ask and he knew it, but he wouldn't be taking no for an answer.

"How long?" His mom asked from behind the kitchen walls.

"I don't know, I guess we'll see. Please? There's some... um- reasons... I guess?" 

Hinata's mother could detect the worry in her eldest child's voice. This signaled to her that this reasoning must be important.

"Sure, that sounds fine." 

Hinata and Kageyama were thrown off by how easy it had been to convince Hinata's mom to let Kageyama stay for an undefined amount of time. They didn't question it, though. They ran up to Hinata's room and set their stuff down.

"So, hey new roommate." Hinata jokingly nudged Kageyama and winked.

"I hate you so much." Kageyama rolled his eyes.

"Does this mean you forgive me for being a stupid ass that day at your house?" Hinata crossed his fingers in front of Kageyama's face.

"Maybe." Kageyama shrugged coolly, but he failed to hide the smile that grew on his face. Hinata knew that Kageyama meant 'yes, you are forgiven' deep down in his heart, but a 'maybe' will have to do for now.

Hinata grinned at the tall boy cheesily.

* * *

"There we go!" Hinata flopped down on the futon he had just laid out.

"I'm supposed to sleep there. Get off, idiot." Kageyama teased.

"Errggghhh, but I'm tireeed! I just slaved away to set up this futon for you!"

"You're so obnoxious." 

"Thank you!" The orange-haired boy liften his face from the futon, shooting the taller one a small smile.

* * *

Things carried on like usual. Kageyama had been staying with Hinata for a few weeks now.

Kageyama was slowly, but surely, returning to his normal self. The natural flush was returning to his skin, he was eating good, but and his eye bags hadn't disappeared yet.

Why was that? He's been getting enough sleep each night, just about as much as Hinata gets, and Hinata's eye bags were nowhere close to Kageyama's.

Hinata's gut is telling him that something's wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for adding another chapter BUT i'm gonna start it RIGHT NOW!


	7. invincible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will their current living situation play out? What happens?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh, sorry for taking a few days to release this chapter. i got SWAMPED with work, but here we are. we made it to the last chapter!

"Natsu! What is up with you and always spilling your drink?" Hinata picked up the empty cup and set it on his desk, scrambling to grab a towel and soak up the spilled apple juice.

"It slipped! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry Biggie. I'm really, really sorry. I promise I didn't pour it out. Don't be mad!" It didn't take long for Hinata to detect the guilt in his sister's high-pitched voice, or to see her trembling lip.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't cry, Littles! Really, it's okay! It's just a spill. Biggie will clean it up. I'm not mad, I promise!" Hinata pulled his little sister close. "Now, go wash up and get ready for bed. I'll come tuck you in soon, how about that?" Hinata smiled down at his sister and ruffled her frizzy hair. Natsu wiped the frown off of her face and skipped out of her big brother's room and towards the bathroom.

Hinata tore the stained sheets off of the futon, "Shit. The futon got wet too." Hinata frowned.

"What's the big deal?" Kageyama asked.

"Well, my family only has one futon... and those were our only pair of extra sheets."

"It's fine, Hinata. I've been sleeping outside in the yard for the past few months, I can handle a night on the carpet." 

"No way! You are not sleeping on the floor. You can sleep with me!" Hinata's hands immediately flew to his mouth. "No! N-not like... that... like um- just, like- oh god please just tell me you understand what I'm trying to say."

"Y-yeah... I get it." 

You know, Hinata wouldn't mind it if he accidentally drowned in a pit of lava right now.

* * *

Hinata crawled into the corner of his bed, practically laying against the wall. Kageyama awkwardly shuffled into the right side of the bed, leaving a significantly large amount of space in between the two.

"Kageyama, you're gonna fall off of the bed. Just scoot in, stop freaking out." Hinata felt extremely hypocritical saying this, knowing that he was also internally losing it. Kageyama hesitantly scooted in, removing a few inches of the extra space.

Hinata had always been a deep sleeper. The gentlest noise could awaken him in a mere few seconds. Whether it be the soft sound of wind or the sound of an exploding toaster - he would wake up to it. So to him, the Kageyama shuffling under the sheets and the quiet sound of the door to his room creaking open could easily wake him. 

And it did.

Hinata turned around to check if he was dreaming of it. 

No. He wasn't.

The room was dark, he couldn't see much, but he could make out the empty space in front of him. 

"Kageyama?" Hinata whispered out, unsure if his eyes were playing tricks. 

No response.

Where is he?

Hinata inched his body towards his night stand, reaching for his lamp. He flipped the lamp on and was hit with a blinding light. He closed his eyes to shield himself from the sudden change in lighting, but once his eyes adjusted, he realized that Kageyama was nowhere to be found in his room.

Where could he have run off to?

Hinata crawled out of bed and opened his door, the hallway was dark, except for the ounce of light that glowed behind the shut bathroom door.

Oh, he was just in the bathroom.

Hinata was ready to head back to bed, relieved that Kageyama hadn’t run away, but something stopped him from continuing down the path towards his room.

If Hinata made zero sound and stopped breathing for a moment, light sniffles could be heard coming from the bathroom.

Hinata stopped dead in his tracks and did not hesitate to turn back to the bathroom.

He lifted a tired hand and placed three gentle knocks on the bathroom door.

“Kageyama? Are you okay?”

Kageyama nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Holy fuck! S-sorry… you scared me.”

"Sorry! I just heard you sniffling and I wanted to know what's wrong."

"It's just a bloody nose. I'll go back to bed in a sec-" The choked sob that he had been fighting back for several seconds too long escaped his throat. 

"Kageyama? Open the door. I know there's something wrong." Hinata knocked on the door a few more times.

Kageyama knew that he couldn't play this one off, he'd already been caught. Kageyama unlocked the bathroom door and stood alone. Waiting for Hinata to open it himself, because there was no way in hell that Kageyama was going to be the one to break the tension. Hinata slowly pushed open the door, unsure what vision his eyes would be met with.

It was a vision he wished he could forget.

The somber expression on Kageyama's face.

The fresh tears that rolled down his cheeks like rapids.

The beautiful dark blue eyes, that were rimmed with irritation from crying.

Or how he bit down on his lip, in desperation to prevent it from quivering.

The opening of the bathroom door unveiled nothing but pure sadness.

"Kageyama? Why are you crying?"

Kageyama just stayed still. He didn't know what to do with his spindly body. "I... I want to see my mom." 

"Let's go!" Hinata's tone lacked any trace of hesitation.

"R-really?" The way Kageyama's eyes lit up could send Hinata flying to the moon with butterflies.

"Yeah, really." Hinata nodded aggressively. 

* * *

Hinata knew that if they got caught sneaking out, they would both be in huge trouble, but Hinata's gut was telling him that he needs to go see Kageyama's mom. Besides, he'd never seen her before. It would be a new experience! The two boys snuck leisurely out the front door. The cold stiff air snapped Hinata awake. It was chilly, but bearable. 

Kageyama lead Hinata through an unfamiliar path. It's eerily dark, the dim moonlight be the only thing that illuminated Kageyama's face. They turned the sharp corner, standing in the entrance of the cemetery.

"Shortcut." Kageyama stated bluntly. This was starting to freak Hinata out. He had been scared since the moment he realized Kageyama wasn't in bed, and now he was walking through a cemetery with him at three in the morning? Hinata was starting to overwork his brain, stressing himself out while his brain racked at every single horror movie he had ever watched.

"Here." Kageyama continued walking and Hinata waddled behind. Hinata raised a dark orange eyebrow. 

Hinata directed his gaze on a tiny shack. "Does she live in the cemetery in that shed?" Kageyama said nothing, just inaudibly squatting down in front of a grave that was practically drowning in flowers.

"Hi, mom. I brought Hinata today. If you were still here, I know you'd love him."

What?

Oh fuck.

Oh my god.

'1978-2010'

Kageyama's mother had passed away, and she'd been gone for a while now. Hinata asked if she lived in that shitty shed. He asked if his mom lived in a shed. In the cemetery. When in reality, she'd been 6 feet underground for the past 10 years. 

"God, I'm a fucking asshole. I'm so sorry, Kageyama. I didn't know." Hinata crouched down next to him, hovering over the small tombstone.

"No, it's fine. I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have known anyways." Kageyama's voice trembled. Hinata recognized the shake in his voice inhumanely fast. He brought a small hand to Kageyama's back and rubbed in gentle circles.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The smaller boy pressed. It didn't take long before tears came spilling out of Kageyama's eyes. This startled Hinata, but he was fully expecting it as well. "Come here." houseHinata opened his arms wide, signaling a hug to Kageyama. The crying boy pummeled into Hinata. They slightly rocked backwards due to the force, but easily steadied themselves. 

And here Hinata was.

Sitting in a cemetery,

In front of Kageyama's mother.

Cradling Kageyama in his arms while he sobbed uncontrollably into Hinata's shirt until he fell asleep.

Welp, so much for 'avoiding Kageyama'.

* * *

They made their way back home, exhausted.

They slipped up the stairs and into Hinata's room without any disturbance. Hinata was drained of all energy that had ever manifested inside his body. He flopped down on the bed and passed out only seconds after entering his own room. Kageyama was tired, but not as much as Hinata was. Kageyama had apparently taken a nap in front of his mother's grave on top of Hinata.

Kageyama wasn't really in the mood to sleep, so he decided a little studying wouldn't hurt. Kageyama pulled out his math book, and the bright yellow notebook that Hinata had given him.

Yes, it's THE notebook.

But Kageyama didn't know that.

He was planning on giving it to Hinata much earlier but he must've forgotten. Kageyama grabbed a pencil off of Hinata's desk and flipped the two notebook over.

Damn, Hinata wrote a lot. Kageyama didn't think he cared about studying that much.

Something was weird about this notebook. As Kageyama skimmed his eyes over the many words, none of them seemed to be about math. Though he did see his name many times. Kageyama drew his eyes back to the start of the page, and began reading.

_Kageyama looked really pretty today. His face is really scary and it's always in a permanent scowl, but sometimes he smiles. Not often, which sucks because it makes me feel all GWAAAH inside. What are these feelings I'm getting?_

Flip.

_I think I might like Kageyama..._

Flip.

_Me and Kageyama did our super cool quick today! Everyone lost it. He was smiling when the team was celebrating. Ughhhh it makes my heart pound just thinking about it! I hate him and his stupid face._

Flip.

_Kageyama is my soulmate. I wished for this but... now I don't know what to do. I'm happy I think?_

Flip.

_Kageyama was being an asshole today. I don't know why. Ever since we figured out we were soulmates, he started being acting like a dick to me. I'm so confusedddd.  
Suga had to stop me from crying today. Kageyama was SOOO mean that I couldn't hold in my emotions. UGHHH I'm so mad!_

Flip.

_I accidentally looked at Kageyama when he was changing. I'm supposed to stop thinking about him 24/7. Damn you Kageyama! You and your perfect body. >.<_

Flip.

_The plan to get over Kageyama:_

_1: Don't touch him_

_2: Don't talk to him_

_3: Don't look at him_

_4: Don't hang out with him_

_5: Keep all interactions volleyball related_

_I can do this for at least three weeks. Then maybe my feelings for Kageyama will go away, and everything will go back to normal._

Flip.

_I got partnered with him in math. Today I was gonna start avoiding him too! Aghhh! The world is against meee. I guess I'll have just get this project over with and then continue my plan._

_AAAHHH! Kageyama is coming over later today to work on the project and I'm so nervousssss_

Flip.

_I found Kageyama and Natsu hanging out in her room together. I wonder what they were talking about. Anyways, once this stupid project is finished, I can get back to avoiding Kageyama. Why is it so hard for me though? I wanna ignore him so bad but I also always wanna be around him. I look forward to seeing him every day. I don't know how I'm supposed to do this. My brain tells me to push him away and like... punch him in the face! But my heart tells me to-_

"Kageyama?" Kageyama jumped at the sound of Hinata's voice. "What are you- what notebook is that?" Hinata sprung out of bed.

"J-just the um, the one you... gave me for... math."

"Oh god." Hinata already knew it wasn't his math journal. "Oh my fucking god. Holy fuck! Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Hinata held his burning face in his hands. "This is so fucking embarrassing." He was so embarrassed he could cry. 

He was crying. He didn't know why, but he was. He didn't even know when he started crying, he just felt the burning sensation rise in his throat, and the warm droplets fall down his face.

"Why are you crying? Stop that!" Kageyama was terrible with words. He was trying to be reassuring but he just had the exact opposite effect that he wanted. The shorter boy burst into horrid wails. Fuck! This was his fault. If only Kageyama was able to say it out loud.

Out loud... that was it! He didn't have to.

_"Hinata?"_

The other boy looked up, still drenched in tears. "What? We're in the same room."

_"I fucking know that! I can't say it out loud though... it just doesn't work."_

Hinata finally chimed into the telepathic conversation.

 _"Okay... so what was so important that we couldn't speak out loud."_ Hinata remarked snarkily. He was in a shit mood. After all, his precious secrets about a certain someone had been spilled... to the certain someone nonetheless.

_"So I read your... um... your notebook."_

Hinata groaned loudly and buried his face in his knees.

_"God, just wait! I'm not going to make fun of you."_

Hinata raised his face and met eyes with the nervous setter.

He couldn't say this out loud.

But he wanted to.

Kageyama felt like it wouldn't mean anything if he didn't vocalize it.

"I think I... um- I," Kageyama couldn't spit out any more words. Hinata's face contorted into a confused expression. Hinata nodded his head, motioning for Kageyama to keep talking. "I think that I... like you. Maybe. Only a little. Wait, no- I didn't mean it like- god. I like you Hinata." Kageyama kept his gaze locked on the floor. He would look at literally anything BUT Hinata right now. The room was silent for what felt like hours, and then, Hinata's fit of laughter replaced the silence.

"W-what!? Why are you laughing? This isn't funny!" Kageyama was turning redder, if that was even possible.

"I'm not!" Hinata choked back a laugh. "It was just... cute. That's all." Now both of the boys were beyond embarrassed. They both fiddled with their fingers and blushed intensely, refusing to look at each other. They both wanted nothing but to be in the other's grasp, and Hinata was the one to make that dream come true.

"Fuck, Kageyama! Hurry up and get over here!" Kageyama was startled, but he didn't waste an extra second before he flew onto the bed next to Hinata. 

The smaller boy nuzzled into the larger's arms. Resting his orange mess of hair in between Kageyama's neck and collarbone. He almost melted in the warmth of Kageyama's touch.

"So, what are we?" Hinata looked up into the setter's deep blue eyes.

"We're whatever you would consider two people that like each other should do after a confession?"

"You really are terrible with words, Kageyama-kun." Hinata snickered a little. "Boyfriends. That's what we are." They both grinned at his simple, but meaningful words.

Hinata could feel the way their heartbeat's matched up. 

"Kageyama?" Kageyama hummed in response quietly. "Care to explain why you were such a dickwad to me when we first figured out that we were soulmates?"

"Oh, come on Hinata! Way to ruin the moment." 

"Just answer!" Hinata smacked him playfully.

"I guess I just didn't believe it was true. I had wanted this for so long, but once it happened I didn't really know what to do. I think I didn't wanna get my hopes up to think you would ever like me back, so I just tried to disregard my own emotions. But I think I hurt you in the process." Kageyama frowned.

"Don't be upset!" Hinata smiled brightly and pushed up the corners of Kageyama's mouth into a terrible looking grin. 

Kind of like Wybie, from _Coraline_.

Hinata laid directly on top of Kageyama, resting on his head on Kageyama's chest. The two couldn't help but smile back at each other. Without putting much though into it, Hinata pressed his lips onto Kageyama's. He pulled away and stared at the flustered Kageyama that laid underneath him.

"Moving a little fast, I see?" Kageyama teased.

"Shut it! I can't help it when you smile like that. Sorryyyyy!" Hinata's head drooped down. Long fingers gently embraced Hinata's small face. Kageyama cupped the other boy's face, and leaned in to press a soft kiss into his lips a second time.

"There. Now we're even."

Hinata's stomach swirled with delight. He flopped down into Kageyama and hugged him tightly. He would never forget this moment.

* * *

Hinata and Kageyama walked into the gym, hands intertwined.

"Hey guys- WOAH! WOAHWOAHWOAHWOAH. RYUU! AM I SEEING THIS SHIT RIGHT? DO YOU SEE THAT?" Nishinoya squealed and pranced around the two.

"See wha- WHAT THE FUCK? OH MY GOD." Tanaka joined in on Noya's squabble of energy, examining every inch of the teammates that stood with red faces and linked hands.

"Guys... calm down please. What's the commotion?" Suga and Daichi joined in the huddle of boys that clustered in the center of the gym.

"NO TIME FOR TALKING! LOOK. HANDS!" Noya pointed aggressively at the two hands that were still laced together.

"Holy SHIT!" Daichi nudged Suga, trying to reprimand him for his use of vulgar language in front of their underclassmen. "Sorry! But, I'm gonna need an explanation for _this_." Suga stared at the two boys.

"Heh, well- me and Kageyama are... dating." Hinata and Kageyama stood awkwardly in front of everyone.

"Wow, really? Congratulations! You guys look good together" Suga praised. Everyone else clapped alongside Suga's words. Except for Tsukishima.

"Don't be stuck up, Tsukki! Have fun for once in your life!" Noya elbowed the lanky boy in the side. Tsukishima shot a disgusted glance, at least a foot down, at the overly-energetic boy.

"Don't call me that. And come on, you'd be lying if you said you didn't see it coming. Everyone knew the two bimbo's would get together eventually. Well, everyone except for them." Tsukishima sent Hinata and Kageyama and tense glare, then rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi called after Tsukishima and chased behind him.

"Thanks, everyone." Said 'bimbos' called out to their teammates. Everyone nodded ecstatically and prepared for practice.

* * *

Hinata felt lighter than normal. He felt like he was floating whenever he sprung off the floor to spike Kageyama's tosses. Euphoric feelings rushed over him when the sound of the ball smacked the floor roughly.

They were finally in sync.

In sync with volleyball,

in sync with their feelings,

and in sync with each other.

* * *

"Set your bags down there." Hinata pointed to the corner of his room. Kageyama was moving into Hinata's house. Hinata had previously explained that he wouldn't allow Kageyama near his ass-wipe of a stepmom, ever again. It didn't matter if they ever broke up or not. Kageyama was staying with him as a friend, and a boyfriend. It didn't matter if this was just a 'high school relationship' and 'it won't last'. Hinata was convinced that they wouldn't break up.

Not now, and not ever.

The two looked at Hinata's new room layout, proud of all their hard work that has led them to this very moment. Something felt very homey about seeing Kageyama and Hinata's things clustered together. 

"I love you." 

"What?" Hinata's eyes shot open wide. 

"I'm not gonna repeat it!" Kageyama hid his face behind his hand. Hinata was quick to peel it off. 

"Ugh, you suck!" Hinata shouted in Kageyama's face

"Eh!?" Kageyama grunted.

"I wanted to say it firstttt!" Hinata fussed. Kageyama smacked Hinata upside the head as payback. "Ouch!" Hinata grabbed the back of his head and groaned in pain.

"Sorry." Kageyama grumbled out - not very sincerely, but it was worth the effort.

Hinata giggled and squeezed the taller boy while pressing a sweet kiss on his lips. He pulled away and smiled. Hinata leaned into Kageyama's side, while Kageyama kept an outstretched arm resting on the shorter boy's shoulder and played with his bright orange hair. 

"I love you too, Tobio." 

Hinata was the happiest person alive, and Kageyama could say the same for himself. 

"Hey, let's move to Mexico and start a new life." Hinata announced.

"What? Where did that come from?" Kageyama furrowed a confused brow.

"Oh... nowhere. Just an idea." Hinata couldn't help but laugh a little, thinking about how he had originally planned to move away to Mexico when Kageyama first had his diary. 

But look where that one diary had gotten them.

As long as they're together, they would be invincible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eee! its over! as sappy as i wanna be and pull some shit like "it was a long journey and now its over" or something stupid like that idrk but thank you and thank everyone that has stuck around for these 7 chapters. i really appreciate everyone that read this story. thanks to the people that left kudos and commented! i'm so thankful that most people enjoyed this story. thank you so so much for reading. and hey, don't forget me! i'm going to continue writing on here. i have plans for some one-shots and maybe some more multi-chapter fics. anyways, like i've already said, thank you so much. i hope you enjoyed this little journey of my very first fanfiction ever. see you later, hopefully!!! ^w^
> 
> btw: a little thing i didnt include in the story, hinata and kageyama went to the police during the timeskip between the confession and moving in, and they sent kageyama's step mom to jail. where she deserves to be. forever. and ever. and natsu LOOOVES living with kageyama.
> 
> edit: i have just started my second fanfic! go check it out hehe... its "hinata's (not-so-friendly) friend

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed! sorry this isn't very good. i've been writing at 3am for some reason so i'm always tired. i'll try my best to make this better and throw some twists in here hopefully! i'm not sure how many chapters this is gonna be... but i'll keep u updated! let me know if u have any questions or advice! thanks!


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